As data networks scale to meet ever-increasing bandwidth requirements, the shortcomings of copper data channels are becoming apparent. Signal attenuation and crosstalk due to radiated electromagnetic energy are the main impediments encountered by designers of such systems. They can be mitigated to some extent with equalization, coding, and shielding, but these techniques require considerable power, complexity, and cable bulk penalties while offering only modest improvements in reach and very limited scalability. Free of such channel limitations, optical communication has been recognized as the successor to copper links. Conventional methods of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) can be inefficient and/or ineffective.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the present disclosure as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.